Roanoke, VA Hail Storm – April 2026

What Happened

A severe hail storm moved through the Roanoke, VA metro on April 1, 2026, producing spotter-verified 1.5-inch hail at peak intensity. The event unfolded in several pulses from early afternoon into the evening, with multiple NWS alerts and field reports lining up across the day.

The first alerts came at 1:13 PM EDT and 1:36 PM EDT, each calling for 1-inch hail with spotter-reported confidence. By 2:10 PM EDT, the storm produced its largest verified stones at 1.5 inches, followed by another 1-inch report at 2:19 PM EDT and a later 1-inch alert at 2:52 PM EDT. A field report at 2:12 PM EDT placed 1-inch hail along Wheats Valley Road, close to the peak hail window.

Activity continued into late afternoon and early evening. Another spotter reported 1-inch hail at Pipestem Resort State Park at 5:30 PM EDT. Around that same period, a report at 5:20 PM EDT noted pea-size to dime-size hail falling since about 5:15 PM, with the largest stones reaching about 0.7 inch. NWS alerts followed at 4:44 PM EDT, 4:55 PM EDT, 5:42 PM EDT, 5:43 PM EDT, and 7:11 PM EDT, each calling for 1-inch hail.

The storm stayed active for a long stretch, but the field reports show the strongest hail window centered in the early afternoon near Wheats Valley Road, then renewed hail later in the day farther south and west in the broader coverage area.

Damage Assessment

The field reports point to localized hail impact rather than a single continuous swath of heavy damage. Wheats Valley Road had 1-inch hail observed at 2:12 PM EDT, and Pipestem Resort State Park later received another 1-inch report at 5:30 PM EDT. The 5:20 PM EDT report of repeated small hail near 5:15 PM shows a longer hail episode in part of the storm path, even where stone size stayed below the peak.

For roof work, the main concern is not uniform damage across the metro. The reports support spot checks in the locations tied to the verified hail times, especially where the storm produced repeated hail pulses through the afternoon. On homes and outbuildings in those paths, look for bruised shingles, soft metal dents, and impacts on vents, trim, and exposed accessories.

The event also carried enough duration to create multiple inspection points. A single afternoon hit is not the full picture here. The report trail shows separate hail bursts at 2:12 PM EDT, 5:20 PM EDT, and 5:30 PM EDT, with NWS alerts extending into the evening. That timing supports a broader canvass across the warning area rather than a narrow drive-by survey.

Roanoke-area jobs should account for the fact that the verified hail came from more than one pulse. That pattern leaves some roofs with obvious strike marks and others with lighter edge damage, depending on which part of the storm path they sat in. Ground-level items in the same path may also show scattered impacts tied to the later afternoon hail reports.

Roanoke, VA Hail Storm – April 2026

NWS WARNING AREAS · 50

What Happened

Damage Assessment

Storm Details

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